A MIDDLESBROUGH shop owner has been fined in court for failing to dispose of business waste correctly.
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Ekhlas Hassan admitted failing to provide waste transfer notes when she appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (January 22).
The court heard that Miss Hassan, who owns Avesta, a general dealer shop on Gresham Road, Middlesbrough failed to provide waste transfer notes when required to do so on April 14 last year.
By law all businesses are required to keep a record of how they are disposing of their waste for at least two years and produce them when requested to an authorised officer.
The 24-year-old was first served with a warning letter which provided her with information on how to dispose of business waste correctly and gave her 21 days to implement the necessary changes, before being visited at her business premises on March 28.
During this inspection in relation to the shop’s waste arrangements, Miss Hassan told an Environmental Enforcement Officer that she took her waste to a local business.
Two days later a legal notice under the Environmental Protection Act was delivered to Miss Hassan, requiring her to provide details of where her business waste had been going.
When no response was received, she was issued with a fixed penalty notice on April 18 for failing to provide the required documents. As no payment was made a reminder letter was sent giving her a further seven days to pay the fine.
A final reminder letter was then hand delivered to the business address on May 16, but to date no payment has been received.
Miss Hassan, of Brompton Road, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty when she appeared before Teesside Magistrates on Tuesday. She was fined £120 and ordered to pay £200 towards prosecution costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
Councillor Charlie Rooney, Middlesbrough Council’s Executive Member with responsibility for environmental protection, said: “Businesses have a duty to ensure that their waste is disposed of properly so that it does not cause harm or pollute the environment.
“The vast majority of businesses in Middlesbrough are operated responsibly, but those who choose to ignore the law can expect to be prosecuted.
“This defendant had a number of opportunities both to comply with the law, and to pay the fixed penalty notice.
“We are happy to talk to any business owners who are not clear on their obligations – prosecution is a last resort after all other avenues have been explored.”
